Fabaceae
Dolichos

Dolichos compressus R.Wilczek

First published in Bull. Jard. Bot. État Bruxelles 24: 422 (1954)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is South Sudan to Kenya. It is a climber and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Leguminosae, J. B. Gillett, R. M. Polhill & B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1971

Morphology General Habit
Erect or ascending perennial herb 0·3–0·9 m. tall; rootstock woody, up to 12 cm. long and 6 cm. wide, containing a dark red resinous substance.
Morphology Stem
Stems ? single, unbranched or branched, ribbed, often stout, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves developing after flowering has commenced; leaflets 3, oblong-lanceolate, 5–20 cm. long, 0·4–4 cm. wide, rounded but mucronulate or acute at the apex, cuneate at the base, pubescent or glabrescent, very conspicuously 3-nerved from base to apex; petiole 0·2–1·5 cm. long; rhachis 0·5–2·5(–4·3) cm. long; petiolules 1–3 mm. long; stipules sometimes persistent, oblong-lanceolate to ovate, 0·6–2 cm. long, 2–7 mm. wide, glabrous or pubescent, lined with dark pigment.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers 4–8(–15) in axillary fascicles; peduncle obsolete; pedicels 0·8–4 cm. long, pubescent; bracteoles minute, linear.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx pubescent, spotted with dark pigment; tube ± 3–4·5 mm. long; lobes triangular, 1·6–3 mm. long, the upper pair joined for ± three-quarters of their length to form a bifid lip.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Standard mauve, often greenish outside, obovate or almost round, 1·1–2·2(–2·8) cm. long, 1–1·4(–1·8) cm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Pods oblanceolate, 5·5 cm. long, 8 mm. wide, transversely ribbed, glabrous on the faces but margins ciliate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds not seen.
Habitat
Bushland, grassland with scattered trees; 900–2250 m.
Distribution
K3 K5 U1 U2
[FTEA]

International Legume Database and Information Service

Conservation
Not Threatened
Ecology
Africa: Sudanian wooded grassland, Sudanian bushland and thicket, Lake Victoria regional mosaic; wooded grassland, Lake Victoria regional mosaic; bushland and thicket
Morphology General Habit
Perennial, Not climbing, Herb
[ILDIS]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • International Legume Database and Information Service

    • International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS) V10.39 Nov 2011
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • World Checklist of Vascular plants (WCVP)

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0